Guess the cost!

Rather, silly person who hung the gate this way. A preventable accident.

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That gate has been there for 30+ years, and this was the first ever accident that happened there
My horse had only been in the paddock for 2 weeks when it happened, just bad luck on his part, he didn't slow down in time and slid in to it
I have gone and padded it up now with some chaff bags and twine, hopefully won't happen again !!!

Agree, nanny but how many people don't think of little things like that untill an accident happens. Then a lesson gets learnt.:}

Beagle It is easier said than done to stay cool looking at a doozie, especially a serious one.*#) Now I don't react as bad as I used to before (remember pirate Pete with an eye ball hanging out of the socket:} or a horse who couldn't bite an apple? When I called you both times you couldn't understand a word what I was saying, or may be I switched back to Russian *#)
But face it after looking at Bunny's exposed bone every second day for a year when changing bandages, I sort of grew a thick hide and a strong stomach. Stench, maggots, blood don't worry me much.
When an accident happens I see how far it is from the heart or the brain or how much bone is exposed or if there is a tendon/joint damage, and if it's none of the above then (as you said*#)) it is not life threatening and is fixable.

Another thing to cut costs is to keep an eye on ebay or some other online horsey places and buy up big on veterinary products such as vet wrap, combine, poultice, syringes, needles, topical treatment things such as betadine and white heeler etc etc basically whatever you need to dress a wound for a week or two. By doing this when the vet says they'll give you x amount of dressings to get you through you can say 'no, don't worry about it, I have heaps here already!' This also goes with what Beagle was saying about doing some basic first aid on the wound yourself to save yourself an after hours call out fee.

I recently saved myself a bit of money by having a stash of vetwrap and combine on hand. When I took Kenoath into town with a wound on his back leg I was able to leave him at the agistment centre with his own supply of vetwrap and dressings **) When that ran out I had some on the way in the post so was able to replace the agistment centres vet wrap that they'd used on him.

ahh Lena the doggy with prolapsed eyeball IS a genuine emergency, no matter what time of day or night, & the horse Dick (hiya iron Horse Hill!!!) had that injury for a long time before you noticed it - again - NOT life threatening!
I am making a specific example of these sort of injuries for a reason. I am not referring to colics or birthing issues or broken legs - just these things which people can minimize costs of if they're prepared, a bit like GR here above ^^^**)

Agree with you Beagle, now that i have been through a leg injury like my girls. I was lucky it happened in broad daylight and my mum was out side and saw it happen. I was working and she panicked as she saw bone an knew she shouldn't be able to, as i wasnt gonna be home in five sec i told her to call the vet. Even if it was after hrs i prob would have called vet had i not have been there as i dont expect my mum to deal with stuff like this on my horses as she can get a lil stressy and worried lol (just a mum thing i guess). i could have saved some money by wrapping her leg straight away to keep any dirt out and loading her up, but again it was my first leg injury and i had no idea what i should/could have done. I guess all things with horses are learning curves and untill your in that situation you dont know how your going to react.

Yes Lena i am very lucky to be able to still ride her.

Beagle with and injury like my girls (i know u havent seen the horse at all), is there anything i should be careful with, with having her back in work and not having a tendon in that leg??? also do you think her leg should be able to with stand the strain of cutting and barrel racing??

One thing I find in practice is how much people panic when finding injuries ( def not Lena!! cool as a cucmber!).
If your horse has a leg injury much like I have seen in these photos, understand they are NOT LIFE THREATENING , & whilst they certainly do need attention, you don't need to panic & call the vet out after hours UNLESS there is a lot of bleeding that may not be compressed with a good bandage. As I gather most of you have done PC, surely as you progressed thru the grades you learnt how to bandage? & if you don't know, START.
Most of these wire cuts & degloving injuries require a hose down ( NOT under pressure, just gentle flooding) then put flap back into position & bandage well & get vet out in morning. Flaps also serve a purpose. They protect underlying tendons sheaths etc whilst healing occurs. Don't always request the flap to be removed, instead use it. expect it to die & slough off, or be cut off later.
That is what's best for the wound & the healing.
Also, if you're in a position to take horse to vet DO SO. Don't whinge about call out fees etc when you're only a half hr or so from the vet. Different scenario if you're rural or vet doesn't have a crush/ facilities.
If you're all worried about cosmetic appearances & scarring, well. get over it I say.

Last injury (that saw a vet), I rocked up and found her bleeding 11pm at night (just got home from Perth!), I bandaged it to control the bleeding then loaded her up in the float the next day and drove her 3 hours (more with a float) after consulting the vet via the phone to make sure she'd handle the trip fine (and she did easy) to Perth to have her treated by a horse vet as I wanted a second opinion regarding her leg.

Obviously some of those injuries are just horrendous and I commend all of you that persevered with your horses and paid huge vet bills.

However, at what point is enough, enough? From a financial/practical point of view where do you draw the line when it comes to vet bills? Or is everyone just governed by emotion - fix it and hang the expense?

With my pally girl, all though it was her first actually wound persay, she had had a hip injury (pinching nerves as growing), and had some how pulled all the muscles in her chest and shoulders and put her hips and neck out one night in the stable (originally thought it was concusion as could only limp in a circle, and couldnt walk backwards as front legs couldnt be picked up, than was told it could be a fractured scapular). Allthough it seems like little things it was getting to the stage that she would never be ridden, and i had thought a few times "atleast if she's unriddable i can always use her as a broodmare". She is worth to much sentimentally and marketwise for me to have ever given up with the treatments she has had, i think her muscle injuries actually cost me more with treatments than her leg injury as she had bowen and chyro treatments frequently. With a gelding i rescued, i perservered with him for sentimental reasons, I wanted to give him a chance to have the life he deserved. I spent way more than what he was worth, BUT i know now that he is in heaven knowing that someone loved him, even if it was only for the last few months of his short 7yrs. I can't speak for everyone else on here, but i have made the hard decisions as finances just weren't able to be found to save an animal and the vet couldnt guarentee a good enough result that could explain the over $10,000 fee. As i'm writting this i look out my office window and can see my girl snoozing in the front paddock, and i dont regret any of the money i have spent on her (even after her being a troll yesterday lol), the only thing i regret is that my two wonderful geldings arent out there with her, but knowing that all the money in the world can't cure cancer, or stop a stomache from dying after years of abbuse!

Obviously some of those injuries are just horrendous and I commend all of you that persevered with your horses and paid huge vet bills.

However, at what point is enough, enough? From a financial/practical point of view where do you draw the line when it comes to vet bills? Or is everyone just governed by emotion - fix it and hang the expense?

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To me, money is money, you only live once and if the horse has a good chance at a positive outcome then I'll pay what is required if that horse is very special to me. Obviously some might not agree but money replaces its self eventually IMO. If the horse isn't going to have quality of life I think that's when you draw the line

Obviously some of those injuries are just horrendous and I commend all of you that persevered with your horses and paid huge vet bills.

However, at what point is enough, enough? From a financial/practical point of view where do you draw the line when it comes to vet bills? Or is everyone just governed by emotion - fix it and hang the expense?

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In my personal case, all Karla's injuries are simply just flesh wounds and never once has she been distressed in anyway so has handled everything extremely well surprisingly! Money isn't as issue for us and I'd still pay what ever it takes with any of my horses providing they continue to live a quality life.

I recently put a horse down who we've spent A LOT of money on and could of spent a continuous massive amount on her but her quality of life would be poor so the hard decision was made. We were hoping she could just live life as a paddock bum!

Luckily for me *TOUCH WOOD* Karla has never done any permanent damage except for having an ugly leg! She's perfectly sound and I'm hoping to continue on and have a successful saddle career as a show horse (arabian shows) and dressage! (I'm told she'll make a 'pretty' show jumper too haha). If she had of hurt herself where it compromised her soundness as a riding horse but was able to live life happily pain / discomfort free then I'd still invest the money in her just to be a paddock bum as with all my horses . She's family first .

The hardest thing I've ever done is realising that I can't be selfish and organising for your horse to be put down knowing your about to experience amazing amount of pain in their best interest to end their own pain . Worst experience of my life #(.

So what I'm saying is I pull the plug when their happiness and quality of life is compromised.

Obviously some of those injuries are just horrendous and I commend all of you that persevered with your horses and paid huge vet bills.

However, at what point is enough, enough? From a financial/practical point of view where do you draw the line when it comes to vet bills? Or is everyone just governed by emotion - fix it and hang the expense?

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I agree with Arnie and Tarz. When you get yourself a horse, or any pet for that matter, you take on full responsibility of taking care of it. I liken it to having children. You make the decision to have them, and you wouldn't put them down if their hospital bill was 'too big', even if the option was legal. Why? Because you love them.

Sure, my bill was beyond my income, but lucky for me my vets are patient and are letting me pay it off. They have seen my horse since she was a baby and have known me since I was young, and they know that I love her with all my heart. I wouldn't put her down just because it costs thousands. It is so morally wrong, in my opinion; to give up before even trying. I don't know how people can live with the knowledge that they didn't do everything in their power to try to fix the problem, and called it quits too soon. There would always be that 'what if' hanging over my head. I do my damned hardest to be able to work something out, even if it means having to sacrifice other things.

I understand that in some instances you have no choice. i.e. colic cases where surgery is required, and you need payment up front. I had that problem, and I couldn't come up with $10,000 on the spot. I loved him dearly and tried every financial option available to me before I had to give up. But if it is something that can be fixed, and they will be sound after (even with a risk of them not being ridable, but still sound), isn't it worth it?

Obviously some of those injuries are just horrendous and I commend all of you that persevered with your horses and paid huge vet bills.

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I wouldnt describe the injury I posted as horrendous (some of the other photos are, though!) but I dont see the value for money I received from my vet for that call-out.

As another example, I recently spent over $3000 on an ill newborn foal, treatment was by the same vet, and I saw value for money that time - numerous callouts, travel, medications, several blood tests, fluids, plasma, and the time the vet spent in attendance - only to have the foal pass away at 6 days old.

I guess what Im trying to say is, money is not a problem for us, but the value for money is - I dont like being ripped off.

However, at what point is enough, enough? From a financial/practical point of view where do you draw the line when it comes to vet bills? Or is everyone just governed by emotion - fix it and hang the expense?

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Depends on the horse. Im afraid to say if the horse was for example an aged retiree who sustained a severe injury like the photos that Coliban posted, I would have the horse put down. If that same horse was my young competition horse, I would be tempted to spend the money - but only if the horse had a good chance of being whole and sound at the end of it. For me, it just depends on the horse, the situation, the injury, the time management. I dont think its possible to put a blanket figure on 'drawing the line' - it is totally dependant on the situation, and for me, is looked at on a case-by-case basis.

I agree Kiraspark, i was told by my vet that in the worse case scenario my girl would only be able to compete in stuff that didnt have her using her hind leg as much as she would need to in barrel racing and cutting, but i still would have perserviered with her even if she would never have been able to be ridden again as long as she would never be in pain. my two geldings that i lost were very different cases, one had had a cancerous(sp?) growth removed from his sheath in a simple out in the paddock op. was told he would either get it back or would die of old age!!! a year to the day we found the first one, we found a second larger one with a larger attachement to the body. The vet said we could operate, starting price for a simple, no problems half way through op would be $10,000 with no guarantee he would not have it return six months later bigger again. I think everyday what if i had the money to do the op and he was still with me now, and it hurts, but sometimes you do find that line you have to cross. The same with my "worthless" stb, i was told to just give up, but i couldnt just give up on him i had spent six months trying to teach this horse that ppl can be good (he didnt even know what a carrot was or that he could stand in the paddock with me for cuddles with out me wanting something from him) and i didn't want to say well he's not worth $1500 so i'm not spending money on him. I mean if a serial killer in jail is seriously injured or ill do we not take them to hospital and try and save there lives???

Not a leg injury but when we had the old man put down we had an emergency call out, painkillers, clipped out his tummy and did a tummy drain, sedative, one vial of green dream (he was so close to going he only needed the one) she then stayed for half an hour talking to us and making sure he'd gone. Considering we were expecting over a grand, mostly because of her excePtional bedside manner, we were shocked to get a bill of only $450. Burial was only ninety and the man that did it with utmost respect and dignity of rocky, and went and spoke to the othe two who were distressed at the burial. I'd have paid any amount though.